A Way to Grieve
by xobabygurlxo
Summary: *Spoilers for 5x25* Don Flack finds a way to grieve in his ex-girlfriend, Kate Monroe


Disclaimer: Don't own anything except for Kate!!

Takes place few days after season 5 finale…after Angell's funeral Flack visits an old friend…

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Kate Monroe woke up to an arm across her stomach, a head on her chest, and an all too familiar scent. She stretched her arms up, rolling her neck slightly after having fallen asleep basically sitting up, and brought her left arm back down to her side and her right arm laying across the sleeping man's back. She glanced over at her clock and saw that it was 9 a.m. – pretty early to be up on a Saturday morning.

She thought about going back to sleep – but she wasn't in the most comfortable position, and a phone was ringing.

Oh, damn. A phone was ringing.

She glanced over on the nightstand and knew it wasn't her home phone nor her cell, so it had to be her companion's. She couldn't see it from her position and, figuring it was in his pants pocket, she decided it was time to wake up Sleeping Beauty.

If this were a normal situation with a normal man – or even him a couple years ago – she would've shoved him, possibly hitting him with a pillow as a way to wake him up. But she remembered the events of the past week and the circumstances under which he came to her doorstep, and she decided to go a gentler way.

She rubbed his back, and felt him stir. She then ran her hand through his hair, kissing him gently on the temple and forehead. "Don," she whispered. "Donnie, your phone's ringing."

She continued to rub his back, and she soon felt his hands start to roam over her body. His head was still resting on her chest, but his hands wrapped around her waist, roaming back and forth and slipping up under his shirt that she was wearing. He leaned over, eyes still half closed, and kissed her chest. He then slid down her body, unbuttoning the shirt – his shirt – that she was wearing. With every button, he slowly kissed his way up her stomach, hands still roaming down her thighs and up her sides.

She knew she should stop this, but she couldn't help but let out a groan. She could feel him smile as he continued to press into her stomach with his mouth and hands. She shifted under him, softly grinding her hips against his, and she felt him chuckle. He didn't comply with her, however, and instead made his way even more slowly up her body. He skimmed her skin with his mouth, leaving barely there kisses that he knew drove her crazy.

The phone had stopped ringing, and Kate only halfway acknowledged it. She had enough. She slid under him so that they were face-to-face, and saw him smiling at her.

"Good morning," he said, planting a kiss on her lips.

She traced the outlines of his face – eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks – and he kissed her fingers as she did. "Your phone was ringing," she said, softly.

"I don't care," he responded. He moved her hands aside and went to kiss her again, but she turned her head so that he kissed her cheek. He lowered his head and sighed. "You're not gonna play again until I call whoever it was back, are you?"

She looked him in the eyes. They were a slight mix of joy, lust, and misery; a strange combination, but one that brought her back to the real world. "I think we're done playing for now," she said, running her hands along his cheeks and into his hair. She kissed him quickly, then said, "Call them back." She got up, and he begrudgingly let her go. He watched as she grabbed some clothes out of a drawer, stripped off his shirt, and walked into the bathroom.

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Don Flack leaned over to grab his cell out of his pants pocket. He opened it to see two missed calls – one from Stella and one from Danny. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the CSI team called him, wondering how he was or where he was.

Don was trying to decide which one to call when his phone rang again. It was Stella. He answered it, and she sounded surprised and yet relieved to hear his voice.

"Hey, I just tried calling your home number. Where are you? You OK?" she asked.

He couldn't lie now that she knew he wasn't home. "Yeah, I'm fine, Stel. I had too much to drink last night and I fell asleep at a friend's house."

"OK. Just wanted to make sure you were all right after yesterday. It was a tough day…for everyone."

Don sighed. As if he could forget yesterday's event – the funeral of his former partner and lover, Jessica Angell.

Just as he thought about that, Kate walked out of the bathroom in a white tank top and booty shorts – so not helpful to the guilt he was feeling. She smiled sadly at him and went out of the bedroom – to give him some privacy or to get away from him, he wasn't sure.

"I know. I'm OK though, I swear. I'll talk to you later. You can let the rest of the guys know I'm good, yeah?"

Stella responded with a quick, "Yeah. See you later," and Don hung up the phone and collapsed onto the bed. He had cried too much in the past few days – no more tears would emerge. So he lay there in shock as reality seemed to drift over him. Jess was dead – gunned down in her favorite diner. And three hours after her funeral, he had shown up at his ex-girlfriend's door with a bottle of whiskey and a broken heart. Not a good combination considering after taking one look at his ex, one whiff of her perfume, one look at her tear stained face and the feeling of her hands on his back as he hugged her, he knew where the night would end up.

So now, he lay in his ex's bed, naked, and could faintly hear her wandering around her kitchen, probably making some breakfast.

He didn't know how to do this. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't have a whole lot of experiences with one night stands. Especially one night stands with women he had a previous long term relationship with.

Flack got up, put on his boxers, his pants, his white undershirt, and finally his dress shirt – leaving the buttons undone. He put his cell back in his pocket, picked up his shoes, and took one final glance around Kate's bedroom, making sure he took everything that was his with him. He had to get out. This was a mistake. But on his way to the door he passed a picture of Kate and him holding Danny and Kate's sister Lindsay's new baby, Lucy. He looked at it for a moment, and thought maybe it wasn't a mistake after all.

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Kate turned on the coffee machine – knowing they'd need it after downing about half a bottle of whiskey last night – and tried to find something edible for breakfast. She hadn't been to the store since Jess died – she was her friend after all, and her death was very sudden – and since Lucy was born, considering Danny and Lindsay asked her to watch Lucy while they worked Jess' case. But there was some yogurt in the fridge, and some bread, and was that eggs in the back? Yes it was. Perfect. Kate loved having eggs after a night of drinking – no reason for it, really.

She turned her stove on and looked over to find Don coming out of her bedroom. He dropped his shoes next to the table she kept near her sofa, and walked over to breakfast nook separating him from her. "All taken care of," he said before bringing her in for a soft kiss. She was surprised to say the least. She was expecting the "This was a mistake, I'll be on my way" speech, but definitely not a kiss.

"You want some eggs?" was all she could muster to say. There was a slight smile on his face and he said, "Sure," before taking a seat on one of the three stools that stood at her nook. "Scrambled, because I don't trust you're over easy ones."

She smiled softly and nodded. Kate turned back around, still shocked, and put a frying pan on the stove. She felt uncomfortable, knowing he was watching her, but sprayed some Pam into the pan, waiting it to warm up a bit and scrambling the remaining three eggs she had into a bowl.

She saw some steam rising from the pan, and poured the eggs in. You could cut the tension with a knife –she hadn't been smart enough to turn on some music or the TV as a buffer – and a slight sense of panic overcame her as she heard the stool scrape back and knew he was coming toward her.

His arms slid around her waist, and he kissed her shoulder and her neck. She felt herself slipping back under his spell but had to stay focused. He was in mourning – grief over losing someone who had been his friend, partner, and lover – and he wasn't thinking clearly.

"The eggs are almost done. Grab some coffee if you want it," she said, not responding to his touch. He looked at her, obviously concerned, but nodded and went to pour two mugs after she included that she wanted some.

Five minutes later, they were sitting on opposite sides of the breakfast nook eating their eggs and drinking coffee. Kate was thinking about the previous 24 hours, while Flack was more focused on his future and what exactly he was thinking doing sitting here with Kate.

The more Kate thought about it, the more she knew she should've been more careful with Flack last night. She had been home from Jess's funeral for about three hours – she had changed out of her black dress and into a tank top and lounge pants – when Flack appeared at her door, whiskey bottle in his hand and some on his breath. She wanted to forget that day, forget the funeral, just try to move on as if she didn't just lose a very close friend; but seeing Don with tears in his eyes made her heart sink even lower than it already was. His eyes were focused on the ground, but he looked up with those sad eyes and said, "She's really gone." She let him into her apartment, and the rest was history as he broke down in her arms.

Now that morning was here and the sun was shining, Kate knew they had to talk. She would just tell him that last night was a one night thing, they were just comforting each other, and that would be it. They'd be friends again, as they were before.

"Was last night a mistake?" he asked before she could say anything.

It was spooky, as if he had read her mind. He always did stuff like this, and it always freaked her out. "I think last night was just two friends comforting each other in a time of grief."

"So you regret it?"

Kate hesitated. Did she? "I don't," she said. "I can't speak for you. You lost someone very important to you a few days ago. It's natural that you'd try to find an outlet for your grief."

Don nodded. "I feel bad," he finally said. "Like I cheated or something. I feel like I didn't grieve in the right way."

Kate pushed her plate away and took his hand – as his ex that he just had sex with last night, not a good idea; but as his friend of over five years, it made perfect sense. "There's no one right way to grieve; we both know that. She was my friend too, and I think she would understand." Flack stayed quiet, obviously analyzing everything that had happened. Kate rubbed her hand over his to get his attention, "You cared for Jess. Deeply, don't deny it. We all miss her, and we all just need to find our own ways to get over this hard time. I know Linds couldn't wait to get home and just hold her baby. It's been hard on everyone – especially you. I was worried for a time there that you'd just drown your sorrows in alcohol and push everyone away. I'm just happy you came to someone – even happier that it was me."

Don thought over what she was saying. It would take time to get over Jess – he knew that. But it was moments like these when he couldn't remember why he and Kate didn't work out.

"You think we could ever give it another shot?"

Kate paused – a forkful of eggs halfway to her mouth. She said, "You and me?" just to make sure. He nodded. "I don't know. Maybe someday. It's a bad time though right now. You know that."

Don nodded again. "Thanks for breakfast," he said, putting his plate and mug in the sink. "I really appreciate everything, Katie." He kissed her cheek, and she sat there stunned. Only Lindsay called her that – and that was only on a rare occasion. She was never sure if the name Katie ever crossed Don's lips when speaking about her.

She looked up and realized he was getting on his shoes and his jacket. He found his wallet on the table and pocketed it, along with his tie. She cleared her throat – getting over the shock that she was sure he knew he had inflicted – and got up to walk him to the door. She opened it, and he walked past her. He turned around to look at her one more time. "I'll see you soon, huh?" She nodded. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He smiled at her and walked down her hallway, stopping halfway to turn back and wave at her.

She smiled and closed the door. This was going to be a hard and weird time for all of them, but she was sure they would be OK. Kate went over to a photo album she kept on her built in book case and opened it to the picture she knew was inside.

It was taken about a year ago, and it was of her, Stella, Jess, and Lindsay. They had all gone out to dinner and Kate had asked some guy there to take their picture. He obviously had agreed to it, and they all looked so happy.

"I'm sorry, Jess," Kate said. "I really am."

Kate put the album away, and went into her bedroom for some more sleep – grabbing the picture of her, Don and Lucy and putting it on her nightstand.


End file.
